Columbia – November 04, 2026 -- "Where We Once Stood," a documentary following Vietnam Veterans back to the country for the first time since the war, will stream on Prime Video in the U.S. starting on Veterans Day. It is the first feature-length film from Veterans United Home Loans.
Golden Globe winner and longtime Veteran advocate Gary Sinise executive produced and narrates the film.
A 2025 trip marked the war's 50th anniversary
The crew filmed in 2025, 50 years after the Vietnam War ended. The Veterans revisit the pivotal places that defined their military service. Veterans United brought together men from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Many had rarely spoken about their experiences, and the trip let them face those memories together.
Three featured Veterans carry extraordinary stories
Lt. Col. Robert "Bob" Jeffrey spent more than seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, including at the Hanoi Hilton. Maj. James "Jim" Taylor is a Medal of Honor recipient who saved more than a dozen wounded soldiers during a nine-hour firefight in November 1967.
Capt. Buddie Joe "BJ" Penn, a naval aviator, became the first Black battalion officer at the U.S. Naval Academy and later served as acting secretary of the Navy. Penn said he came home carrying anger and for years avoided talking about the war. On the trip, he shared things he had never told anyone, and he said those conversations helped heal wounds he has carried for more than 50 years.
Veterans set the terms of their return
None of the Veterans had been back to Vietnam since the war's end. Pam Swan, vice president of military relations at Veterans United Home Loans, said the company wanted them to go on their own terms. She described the men as a handful of the millions who served and said their stories should be recorded and told in their own words.
Sinise said many Vietnam Veterans "didn't receive the welcome home they deserved," and he called the film another opportunity to recognize them.
The film has already screened in three locations
Before the streaming release, "Where We Once Stood" screened in Washington, D.C., Nashville and aboard the USS Midway in San Diego.